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March 13 The Gift of Truth
Open to All the Truth
“Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation;
on thee do I wait all the day” (Psalm 25:5).
How dangerous is the position of men who, while claiming sanctification,
still will not receive the light of the law by which sin is
detected! Sanctification is conformity to the will of God, and the will
of God is expressed in His holy law. Those only are truly sanctified
who live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. 32
You should cultivate a spirit of entire submission to the will of
God, earnestly, humbly seeking to know His ways and to follow the
leadings of His Spirit. You must not lean to your own understanding.
You should have deep distrust of your own wisdom and supposed
prudence. Your condition demands these cautions. It is unsafe for
man to confide in his own judgment. He has limited capacities at best,
and many have received, as their birthright, both strong and weak
points of character, which are positive defects. These peculiarities
color the entire life.
The wisdom which God gives will lead men to self-examination.
The truth will convict them of their errors and existing wrongs. The
heart must be open to see, realize, and acknowledge these wrongs,
and then, through the help of Jesus, each must earnestly engage in the
work of overcoming them. The knowledge gained by the wise of the
world, however diligent they may be in acquiring it, is, after all, limited
and comparatively inferior. . . .
Sometimes a course of conduct is pursued every day, and persisted
in, because it is a habit, and not because the judgment approves. In
these cases, feeling, rather than duty, bears sway.
If we could understand our own weakness, and see the sharp
traits in our character which need repressing, we should see so much
to do for ourselves that we would humble our hearts under the
mighty hand of God. Hanging our helpless souls upon Christ, we
should supplement our ignorance with His wisdom, our weakness
with His strength, our frailty with His enduring might, and, connected
with God, we should indeed be lights in the world. 33
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